Page 121 of Dial L for Lawyer
And there, at the far end, Maya.
She won't look at me. Just stares at her hands while her lawyer whispers urgently in her ear.
"Serena," Richard says, gentler than I expected. "Thank you for coming."
"Didn't have much choice," I say, taking my seat next to Caleb.
"No," he agrees. "And before we proceed, on behalf of Luminous, I want to apologize for the… premature conclusions we came to, Serena."
Maya's head snaps up. This isn't the script she expected.
Richard continues, "I want to be clear. Serena, you've been a star employee for five years. Your campaigns have made us millions. Your team respects you. And we..." he looks around the table, "we failed you."
"Richard—" Patricia starts.
"No." He cuts her off. "We rushed to judgment based on weak proof and one person's word." His gaze lands on Maya, who shrinks. "We should have investigated more thoroughly. We should have trusted your work history."
"My client was simply—" Maya's lawyer, Mitchell, begins, but Caleb destroys him.
"Your client orchestrated systematic theft." Caleb pulls out documents. "We have proof."
He slides papers across the table. "Kiernan Webb's signed confession. He admits to cloning Serena's badge at Maya Bolton's request."
Maya goes white. "He's lying?—"
"We have the digital evidence." Caleb connects his laptop to the screen. Data flows—timestamps, access logs, everything Logan found. "Maya accessed restricted files using Serena'scloned credentials seventeen times. Always after hours. Always when Serena was elsewhere."
"We also have emails," David interrupts, sliding another folder over. "Deleted but recovered. Communications with Radiance dating back four months."
I watch Maya crumble as David reads her promises to deliver our campaign, her salary negotiations, her detailed descriptions of our creative process.
"Maya," I say, and my voice cuts through the room like glass breaking. She finally looks at me—really looks—and I see it all. The jealousy. The desperation. The hate. "Why?"
For a second, her mouth opens, but Mitchell grabs her arm, his voice sharp. "My client will not be answering any questions at this time."
"She doesn't need to," Caleb states. "The evidence speaks volumes."
Richard clears his throat. "Ms. Bolton, you're fired effective immediately. Our legal team will pursue criminal charges. Security's waiting."
Maya stands on shaking legs, looks at me once more then Mitchell's dragging her out.
"This isn't over," Mitchell threatens.
"It is," Richard cuts him off. "The FBI's downstairs waiting for you."
Maya makes a sound—half sob, half gasp—and then she's gone.
Silence.
"Well," Patricia says finally. "That was... eye-opening."
The board members all turn to me, nodding like dashboard bobbleheads, desperate to make this go away.
"Serena," Richard says. "Your suspension is lifted immediately, with full back pay."
"Thank you," I manage, still staring at the door Maya walked through.
"That's not all." He glances at the others, who nod for him to continue. "We'd like to offer you Vice President of Brand Strategy, effective immediately."
